US financial markets opened with mixed volatility in reaction to disruptions to the nation's oil distribution system along the Gulf coast and concerns for consumer spending. By the closing bell the NASDAQ and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped two percent. President George W. Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and top economic advisers gave the markets a favorable bump after a noon meeting to consider financial impacts of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. (MarketWatch)

The Common Chimpanzeegenome sequence has been released, revealing genetic differences between chimps and humans including differences in a region of the genome thought to be involved in speech acquisition. (VoA))

U.S. President George W. Bush tours the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina amidst growing criticism of his lack of leadership. Media reports say he will not visit New Orleans. Bush said order would be restored and New Orleans would emerge from its "darkest days". (BBC)

The oil-rich nation of Qatar has offered the United States $100 million to assist in the humanitarian crisis triggered by Hurricane Katrina. (CNN)

Spain joins the global effort to prevent a US oil crisis caused by Hurricane Katrina by providing the United States with 70,000 barrels per day (11,000 m3/d) during September. (International Herald Tribune)

Over 40,000 military personnel will be deployed along the Gulf Coast in the coming week: President George W. Bush is ordering 7,023 additional active duty forces to the Gulf Coast to add to the 4,000 active duty personnel and 21,000 National Guard troops already in the area. The Pentagon announced an additional 10,000 troop deployment from the National Guard. (The White House)(BBC)

The racial and socio-economic fallout from response to Hurricane Katrina continues to grow. Poor black people, says Lani Guinier, a Harvard University law professor, are "the canary in the mine. Poor black people are the throwaway people. And we pathologize them in order to justify our disregard." (Washington Post)

Estimates of the death toll in New Orleans are made by H&HS Secretary Michael Leavitt: "I think it's evident it's in the thousands. It's clear to me that this has been sickeningly difficult and profoundly tragic circumstance" (Express News)

The Coast Guard asks people in the New Orleans area to hang brightly colored or white sheets, towels or anything else that might help draw attention to those needing assistance. (The Times-Picayune)

Wistar Institute scientists say they will present details of research on their creation of "miracle mice" next week at a Cambridge University conference on Regeneration. The experimental animals are able to regenerate amputated limbs or body organs.(The Australian))

In Bregenz, Austria, a German woman attacks the Roy Lichtenstein painting Nudes in Mirror with a jackknife. Witnesses say that the woman claimed that the painting was not authentic. Although there were several slashes in the painting, valued at €4 million, it can be repaired. (Reuters)

A Russian Navy fighter jet crashes and sinks to a depth of 1,100 meters near Shetland in the Norwegian Sea during a military exercise. The jet, a Sukhoi Su-33, slid off the flight deck of aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov after the plane's arresting cable broke during the landing attempt; the pilot ejected out of the plane and survived. Due to the plane's reportedly containing secret high-tech military equipment, Russian authorities have decided to destroy it using underwater bombs. (Pravda.Ru), (Aftenposten)

Ethiopian general elections, 2005: The National Elections Board of Ethiopia, following repeat voting in 31 areas, announces that the ruling EPRDF coalition has retained control of the government, obtaining 59 percent of the seats in Parliament. (IRIN)

Jefferson Parish, Louisiana President Aaron Broussard told CBS's Early Show anchor Harry Smith today: "Bureaucracy has murdered people in the Greater New Orleans area and bureaucracy needs to stand trial in Congress today. Take whatever idiot they have at the top and give me a better idiot." (News Busters)

President George W. Bush announces he will head an investigation into the New Orleans disaster response. He tells reporters in the Cabinet Room: "People want us here to play a blame game. We got to solve problems. We're here to solve problems. There'll be ample time for people to figure out what went right and what went wrong." (Al Jazeera)

Barbara Bush comes under criticism while visiting Hurricane Katrina relief centers in Houston, TX. Mrs. Bush stated on the NPR program "Marketplace: "So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this (chuckles)--this is working very well for them." The former First Lady also said that the fact that the 15,000 evacuees in the Astrodome might want to stay in Texas was "kind of scary". (EditorAndPublisher.com)

Cairo: At least 34 people were killed and 60 injured by flames and an ensuing stampede when a fire broke out in the theater run by Egypt's Culture Ministry; about 1,000 people were watching the play. (Y! & AP)(BBC)

Michael Jackson has announced he will record and release a charity single dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Jackson has asked other recording stars to provide vocals for the single. Babyface has confirmed he will be participating. The single is titled "From The Bottom of My Heart" and is due for release in two weeks. All proceeds will go to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. However, over one year later the single has not been released.

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin again urges the city's remaining holdouts to leave the area. New Orleans is now only 60% underwater. The number of dead in the city could be as few as 2,000 and as many as 20,000, according to estimates. (IHT)

J. T. Alpaugh, pool helicopter reporter for the major media, says today on NBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann that: "There is the strong smell of rotting water, an awful smell, something you don't ever want to have to smell" rising high into the air space around New Orleans. (Los Angeles Times)

Emergency officials requisition 25,000 body bags as search and rescue operations continue in Louisiana. A spokesman for the state's department of health and hospitals said: "We don't know what to expect ... It means we are prepared." (The Guardian)

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press is critical of suggestions that tent cities be constructed to house Hurricane Katrina survivors. He promises to lead the rebuilding of the city saying: "New Orleaneans are the only ones to rebuild. We're going to rebuild New Orleans and make sure we have resources to get the job done." (NBC)

According to the Department of Water and Power, the power outage is of "non-malicious cause" triggered by an accidental error in connecting lines to a newly installed computer. DWP (Dept of Water and Power) General Manager Ron Deaton says repairs have been made and the system will be restored in an orderly manner. (Newsday)

Despite the disruption to two million customers, the system's successfully controlled shutdown prevented a blackout from extending beyond the region.

According to witnesses, the Egyptian border patrol police opened fire at crowds swarming the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah, killing a Palestinian man and injuring another. An Egyptian spokesman later denied that Egyptian troops fired the shots that killed the man. (Reuters)(Al Jazeera), (BBC)

Following serious Loyalist rioting during which dozens of shots were fired at riot police, the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announced that the British government no longer recognized the Ulster Volunteer Force ceasefire.

Two undercover UK soldiers are detained on claims they had been planting bombs, evading arrest, exchanging fire with police, killing one, and failing to stop at a checkpoint. An operation to free the two prisoners ends with civilians gathering around the tanks sent to free the prisoners and setting the tanks they were in alight. Soldiers from the tanks flee the scene while being stoned by the locals, one man, Sergeant George Long, of the Staffordshire Regiment, was seen on fire and another man was seen being surrounded and beaten by locals. One Iraqi official claimed that 150 prisoners escaped including the two soldiers. (China view)(The Times)(BBC)(Washington Post), (the Independent)

At least 10 people, nine police and one civilian, have died following a series of explosions at a Shia festival marking the birth of the Imam Mehdi in Karbala. (BBC)

German green politician Joschka Fischer announced his retirement from leading the Green party in the newly elected Parliament, retiring to become an "elder statesman" in the back benches. Spiegel online

At least 50 people die following a series of storms and floods that hit the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh and India; many more are missing, and officials fear for the safety of over a hundred fishermen. (BBC)

Hurricane Rita makes landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the Texas - Louisiana border at 2:38 a.m. CDT . The storm was downgraded within four hours to Category 2. As of 10 p.m. CDT (0300 UTC, September 25), the center of Tropical Depression Rita was located on land 40 miles (65 km) north of Shreveport, Louisiana. Rita was moving north at 10 mph (16 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) (CNN)

Swiss voters approve a referendum by 56% to 44% to allow citizens from the 10 newest European Union member countries to travel and work in Switzerland. Quotas will be applied until 2011 on the number of people allowed to settle. (BBC)

Imad Yarkas is convicted in Spain of conspiracy with al-Qaeda in the September 11, 2001 attacks and sentenced to 27 years. Driss Chebli, was convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and sentenced to six years, Al Jazeera journalist Tayseer Allouni was also convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and sentenced to seven years, while Ghasoub al-Abrash Ghalyoun was acquitted on all counts. (AP) (Link dead as of 21:25, 14 January 2007 (UTC))

The Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, survives a major leadership challenge within the Likud Party. The proposal, which would have ordered the next Party Leader election be held in October 2005 rather than April 2006, is voted down by the party's Central Committee, 48% to 52%. (Yahoo!News) (Link dead as of 22:31, 14 January 2007 (UTC))